Japan Man, 80, Scales Everest, Sets Record

An 80-year-old Japanese man who underwent heart surgery in January reached the summit of Mount Everest on Thursday, becoming the oldest person to scale the world’s highest mountain.

Yuichiro Miura and his party, including his second son Gouta, arrived at the summit at around 9 am local time (0315 GMT), according to Miura’s website, besting the previous age record by four years.

But he may not have his name on the title very long: Nepal’s Min Bahadur Sherchan, the former record holder who turns 82 on June 20, is on the mountain again and bidding to reach the summit.

“I feel like the happiest person in the world,” Miura said in a satellite telephone conversation with his office in Tokyo. “I’ve never been more exhausted than this but I can keep on going even at the age of 80.

“I can see the Himalayas below me and it’s beautiful. I have stayed strong, strong and strong to be here,” he said.